Chatanooga Choo Choo
by penvision
Summary: The Teen Titans are overworked, they need a vacation. Robin can also squeeze a dollar so tight that it fossilizes, so the team is stuck on a cross-country roadtrip by train! Delays, children, boredom, and singing ensue! Eventual BBR and SR
1. Not fair!

AN: Yeah! Spring Break 2005! W00t! So I took the train out to the East Coast to see my sister at college and it was a very… unique experience. Why, I thought, should I have to suffer alone? Feel my wrath, Teen Titans! Also, this was typed in about an hour and proof-read once, so it doesn't really have a good flow. 

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, Amtrak, or any annoying children.

PS: The titans are not in uniform and are thus referred to by their first names. Assuming I got the names right, naturally.

…

The five overworked titans were spread out in the huge train station lobby, happy to be out of the tower, out of their uniforms, and relatively distant from each other. Raven sat in a cheap blue plastic seat in the middle of the station, her bags next to her, and read a thick leather-bound book, her other hand curled around a mug of herbal tea. Rays filtered in from the skylight above her, warming the whole room to a toasty 78 degrees. Every few seconds the child in the seat behind her would release a long, desperate sob and reiterate her demand for 'sweeties.'

"I want sweeties!" The child gave her chair back a surprisingly firm kick, jolting Raven.

The child kicked again and her young mother released a sigh of annoyance, but did not move from her seat next to her daughter. "Stop it! I don't have any sweeties" The child moaned. "If you don't calm down I'll make you take a nap!"

"Nooo! It's not fair! I want my sweeties!" The child took a deep breath and let out a long shriek, "not fair! Not fair! Not fair!"

Raven closed her eyes, hoping that the train would just show up already. It was at least-

"-Two hours late. Did it get lost?" Richard stood on one side of the glass, arms crossed in annoyance, and glared at the uniformed lady on the other side. A drop of sweat tickled the side of his face, but he refused to give up his stance to wipe it away.

"The train's on tracks, sir, it doesn't get 'lost.'" The woman turned the page of her magazine, smacking her gum.

Richard threw his arms up, "I was being sardonic!"

The woman nodded slightly, her cap sliding forward on her forehead. "Well next time you should try being original, sir. The train will arrive late due to heavy industrial rail traffic, welcome to Amtrak." She looked up and smiled wide, "have a wonderful ride, sir. Next!"

Richard rubbed his temples as he walked over to the arrival screens. "This is so ridiculous-"

"-ly bad!" Victor beamed, his hand glued to the joystick and his eyes glued to the screen. "I didn't even know original Packman games still existed! This is so retro!" The single naked bulb that lit up the arcade flickered lazily overhead. "Only 37 dots to go, then it's level 5!"

The yellow round ball of pixels weaved in and out of the corridors, munching up smaller white balls of pixels as it went while the ghosts drifted around with slight determination. The yellow round ball of pixels weaved in and out of the corridors, munching up smaller white balls of pixels as it went while the ghosts drifted around with slight determination. The yellow round ball of pixels weaved in and out of the corridors, munching up smaller white balls of pixels as it went while the ghosts drifted around with slight determination. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

"Level six, here I come! This is the best thing I've done in-"

"-Months!" Kori pressed her hands against the giant glass window as another train came to a stop on the platform. She watched in amazement as people piled out of the tiny doors, jumping the last foot to the platform, and looked around for loved ones.

"How wonderful! This will be a most excellent vacation!" Her eyes sparkled with unbridled joy as couples kissed hello and old friends hugged. Children were scooped into waiting arms, laughing, and old women kissed their returning children on the forehead or cheek.

A group of people stood around the platform and smoked; sucking desperately on their cigarettes after hours of craving. A uniformed man stood in one of the train's doorways and chucked suitcases at another on the platform, his whole body swinging with momentum, his partner in turn swung the suitcases onto a wooden trailer. A line formed at another door as people boarded the different cars. Kori had never seen anything like this in her life, and her fingers spread over the glass as she leaned in to get a better view.

"I am most excited to-"

"-Be here. I always wanted to be on your show, Oprah." A man sat down and shook Oprah's hand, grinning like a madman. Garfield rubbed the side of his face and let out a lengthy yawn. He shifted in his plastic seat and watched the TV with little interest.

"We're so glad to have you, Mr. Handler. Now tell us about this latest book in your breathtaking series." Garfield leaned his head back on the seat and let it swivel to the right, focusing on the TV with the news on.

"So Frank, what's going on with the weather these days?" One of anchors shifted his papers.

A man in a nice blue suit, Frank, stepped next to a map, pulled out a pointer and tapped the western states of the US, which looked a dusty shade of brown. "Well, the worst drought in 50 years continues to cause temperatures to rise in the southwestern and western plains states. These temperatures are hitting record highs and still climbing, Bob. As all of the youngsters say these days: 'that's hot!'" Frank and Bob chuckled. The pointer dragged across the map and stopped in Illinois, which was dark blue. "How about this for bad news, Bob, the upper states to the east of the Mississippi are already setting new rainfall records. Expect major flooding in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, uh… whatever this state over here is… You get the idea."

"How in the world does that man keep his job?" Garfield swiveled his head to the left at the sound of the voice and grinned as Raven sat down next to him.

"One-sided bargaining and a college degree." He unbuttoned the top of his collar and rubbed a line of sweat off of his forehead. "So what brings you all the way over here?"

Raven opened her mouth to reply, but a loud screech followed by a couple of 'not fairs!' interrupted her.

Garfield swiveled his head forward so that he was watching Oprah again and nodded slightly, "gotcha." Raven opened her book and tucked her legs under her. He watched her read out of the corner of his eye for a while; she was smiling slightly and sipping her tea every now and then, before focusing on the TV again.

A few minutes passed in peace and then a voice from above bellowed out the answer to the Titans' prayers: "This is the first boarding call for train number 382 from Jump City station to Salt Lake City with stops in Auburn, Truckee, Reno, Sparks, Winnemucca, and Elko. This train is running two and a half hours behind schedule, so please board quickly. I repeat, first boarding call for…"


	2. What?

AN: Chapter two, I swear on my brother's life that this story will get interesting… IT WILL! Just, not yet. Sorry.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or Amtrak which is Kartma backwards, think about that and try to sleep at night!

…

Stuffed backpacks and handbags were strapped over sore shoulders as dozens of feet shuffled forward, one following the other. A whoosh echoed as the sliding doors slid open and shut, open and shut. Exposed skin glistened with sweat as fingers grasped ticket packets, droplets of perspiration clinging to eyebrows and chins. The loud buzz of conversation weighed down the air while a faint, warm breeze drifted through the platforms.

Garfield stepped out of the station and onto the platform, his backpack sagging off of his shoulders. The dry, hot air hit him like a wall of fire and he let out a long whistle. "Damn, they actually had the air conditioning on!" He pulled on his shoulder straps and slipped on his headphones, bobbing his head as he stepped in line.

Raven stepped behind Garfield and set her two bags down beside her. She clasped the bottom of her t-shirt and pulled it off to reveal a lavender tank top. Garfield turned around and watched as she pulled out a thermos and tucked the shirt away. "Water?"

A minute shake of the head. "Ice tea." Garfield let out a laugh and grinned. Raven grabbed her bags and they both took a few steps closer to the long silver train car labeled coach class. "How are you doing, Victor?"

The cyborg gave a thumbs up and tossed his sack over his shoulder, "cooling system online."

Garfield frowned and wiped his forehead, tapping his Ipod with his index finger to the beat. "Lucky."

"It's no worse than when we left the tower, Garfield." Richard readjusted his sunglasses, Kori's hot pink bag bouncing in his hand.

"What?"

Richard could hear the lyrics of the song Garfield was listening to, even with Victor standing between them. "I said 'it's no worse than-' …forget it."

Garfield blinked and shook his head. "I can't hear you!" Richard just waved him off.

"Next!"

Garfield heard a voice in his ear and turned around, "what?" The conductor stepped back and snatched Garfield's ticket, punching it and ripping it off. He held out the stub, a frown marring his face.

Garfield took his ticket stub from the conductor's hand and stepped onto the train. He looked around, taking in the small passageway connecting the cars, before turning left and entering the coach car. "Looks like a plane, this isn't so bad." The aisle was a bit wider, the windows were a lot bigger, and the storage spaces above were large and open, but Garfield was admiring the spacious red seats, two on each side of the aisle. "Not bad at all." The car was almost completely empty, despite the line outside, so he trudged up to the middle of the car and tossed his bags onto the aisle seat.

"This is nice." Raven put her bags on the aisle seat across from Garfield's.

"What?"

"I said this is nice!"

Garfield lifted up an earphone. "Huh?"

Victor shoved passed Garfield with a "'scuse me, Saladhead," and grabbed the seat behind him.

"What?"

Richard watched his three friends with amusement as he walked down the aisle, glancing at each seat he passed. He stopped three seats in front of Raven's and tossed his bag on the window seat.

Kori stopped behind him, looking at his bag in disappointment. "Where can I sit, Richard?" The name caught on her tongue as she tried to get used to it.

Richard tapped the glass with is knuckles before giving the seat in front of him a shove. "Anywhere you want, Star, the cabin's practically empty." He put his foot on the metal foot rest and leaned forward, applying pressure. Kori let out a sigh and he looked up to find her staring at his bags again.

"I was hoping that perhaps…"

"Sure, Kori," Richard grabbed the bags and started shoving them into the overhead space. "I'd love it if you sat with me. Besides, we're by an emergency exit window." He glanced around suspiciously, "you can never be too careful."

Raven shook her head. "M hellen oo, s we gt c…er te at ita," she pointed at the map Victor was holding, her finger tracing the route of the train, "or ss…gers ll het n."

Victor shook his head, too. "No… poi… stop… ten." Garfield squinted and leaned in, trying to read his lips. "Gr… fient… walsh!"

"What!" Garfield tilted his ear, cupping it with his hand, but that only made the music louder.

Raven sighed. "Turn down your Ipod!"

Garfield pulled it out of his pocket and turned the green machine over in his hands. "I don't really know how to work it yet!" He shook it furiously for a few seconds, but nothing happened. Victor rolled his eyes and hit the 'stop' button. "Hey! What was that for!"

Raven and Victor just rolled their eyes and settled into their seats. Raven opened up her book and leaned back, her ice tea in hand, while Victor pulled out his laptop. Garfield let out a humph and sat down in his seat, pouting. Kori was staring out the window, watching the different people in line, while Richard tested his overhead light, unimpressed with the pathetic glow it released.

The conductor walked down the aisle as the train jerked forward, "next stop Auburn." 


End file.
